


wherever i'm with you

by thatapostateboy



Series: When Your Back's Against The Wall [4]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Bonding, F/F, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-13 21:29:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 11,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10522257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatapostateboy/pseuds/thatapostateboy
Summary: Scott is finally cleared for active duty, and Sam is itching to have her brother join her crew.A handful of one shots into how Scott gets on with the crew that's become his sister's new family, and how he finds a home somewhere he didn't imagine.(I rearranged the timeline so this is mid-to-late game for context)





	1. A Surprise

Sam let out a tired yawn as she slid into her desk chair, opening up her email terminal; her final job before she got some sleep. She deleted the various requests for reports from Tann, chuckling as she skimmed through the usual messages from her crew. Her heart leapt when her brother’s name popped up. Since coming out of his coma, she and Scott had tried to keep in contact, but with her out flying around Heleus, and him recovering, they didn’t get to talk as often as they liked.

She opened the message;

_Sammy,_

_Next time you’re docking at the Nexus, I’ve got a surprise for you._

_Scott_

Her fingers worked quickly across the keypad as she typed her reply.

_Hey Hot Shot,_

_We’re just picking up some supplies on Aya and we’re headed back to the Nexus. Should be no more than a day or two. This better not be like that time you told me you had a surprise for me and you’d accidentally vacuumed up my hamster._

_Sam_

It didn’t take long for a new message to pop up.

_Scout’s honour, I haven’t accidentally killed another of your pets. Your pyjack wouldn’t fit in the vacuum._

She snorted.

_My mouse might have something to say about that._

He replied instantly.

 _Since when do you have a mouse? You’re a geologist, not a zoologist, quit it with the animals. Next thing I know you’ll have one of those Kett dogs trained and running around the ship_.

She laughed at that.

_Don’t tempt me. I have to go, we’re arriving at Aya soon. I’ll see you in a few days Hot Shot._

She opened his final message.

 _Have fun, I’ll roll out the drinks for when you get here_.

***

Sam walked out onto the Nexus docks, chatting away to Vetra. They were going to take the tram together down to operations so that Vetra could see Sid and she could catch up with Kerri for her next interview before heading over to the Hyperion med bay to see Scott, eager to know what his surprise was.

But as the door opened, the surprise became all too apparent.

“Scotty?!”

Her brother flashed her a smile from where he was leaning on the railing, clearly having been waiting for her. He barely had time to stand upright and she had her arms around him in a hug.

“What’re you doing out of the med bay? I thought Harry was never going to let you out,” she said, looking him over, happy to see him in his hoody and sweats rather than the usual dark outfit that Harry made him wear.

“I’m not just out of the med bay. He’s cleared me for duty. I’m leaving on the next ship out of here, which I’m really hoping is yours.”

Her heart leapt in her chest and she hugged him again, holding him close. She was going to have her brother back, at her side where he belonged.

She swallowed back tears and cracked a smile for him, “Who said I even wanted you on my ship?”

“Hey, come on now, you’ve been itching to have me on your crew,” he reminded her with a grin, watching as a familiar concerned expression crossed her face, “Alright _Mom_ out with it.”

“And you’re really ready to join the crew? Harry might have signed you off medically, but it’s not pretty out there, you haven’t been out there yet properly.”

“I’m ready for whatever it throws at me,” he told her honestly, “I made that choice long before we got here, you know that. All that matters is that we stick together. We came to Andromeda together, the Ryder twins taking on a new galaxy. Ryder or die, remember?”

She hummed with laughter, nodding a little, “Ryder or die. You’d better get your gear Specialist Ryder.”

He grinned, “Aye aye, Pathfinder Ryder.”


	2. Fresh Start

Sam concluded her business on the Nexus as quick as she could, pausing only for a moment to have SAM alert the crew that Scott would be joining them, and arrived back at the docks less than forty minutes later to find Scott stood waiting for her. She led him onto the Tempest, and as she gave him the basic tour of the ship and brief introductions to anyone that they passed, she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

Her brother was here. He was really here. Maybe things really were going to turn around.

They stepped through one of the doors, and she watched his eyes go wide with excitement.

“And here, we have the only place that you actually care about; engineering.”

Scott wouldn’t lie, he had been itching to get his hands on the engines since he’d seen the Tempest. A ship as advanced as this had to have one of the best engineering decks he would ever see, and he hadn’t been this buzzed in a long time.

“I know that Gil has been anxious for you to meet you. I’ve been overplaying your handiness with a wrench, and he’s looking forward to an extra pair of hands around here,” she told him.

“You want me in engineering?”

She looked around at him, “Of course. I’ve got enough soldiers, Scott, I need you where you’re happiest and of most use to me. I’d love to have you fighting at my side, but I know where your true skills lie. If anything goes wrong, there’s no one I’d trust more to keep this girl in the air… Though I must warn you, Gil can get pretty possessive over everything. Just play nice.”

He wandered around the side of the Nomad with a cocky grin on his face, “You know me, Sammy, I always-” he was cut off as he turned and fully bumped into someone, knocking them both flying.

Sam leaned against the Nomad’s tire, laughing softly to herself as she watched Scott and Gil haul themselves to their feet, regarding each other with awkward smiles. Sam had told him about Gil before, and she knew that meeting him was about on par with the engine room for Scott’s excitement levels. Scott looked at Gil in silence for a moment, mouth flapping, and Sam could practically see the cartoon hearts in his eyes.

He snapped back to himself, nervously laughing, “Hi… I … I’m Scotty…. I mean Scott… Scott Ryder…. Or just, uh, Scott.”

Sam shook her head to herself, watching him get all flustered. Her supposedly charming, smooth talking brother, getting himself worked up was quite a sight. She glanced at Gil.

“I’ll do that again before he hurts himself,” she chuckled, “Scott, this is Gil Brodie, our chief engineer. Gil, this is my brother, Scott. He’s eager to get to work. I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted, I’m going to go make some coffee.”

She gave Scott a pat on the back and walked away, leaving them alone.

“Your sister told me a lot about you,” Gil said, offering him a smile.

“I dread to think.”

“She told me you know your way around an engineering deck better than anyone she’d ever met, which I tried not to take offence to,” he laughed.

“It’s just one of my many talents,” Scott smirked, Gil’s demeanour making him instantly feel more at ease.

“Is that right?” Gil’s voice lowered a little, a hint of amusement in his tone, “Well, I’ll be sure not to blink. I want to see them all.”

“They don’t call me Hot Shot for no reason. You just let me know if I go too fast for you,” he teased.

Gil laughed softly, “There’s no such thing.”


	3. An Appointment (Lexi)

“So, Scott, how’re you feeling?” Lexi sat on the bed opposite him, datapad in her lap.

“Are you going to try and analyse me, Doc?” he raised an eyebrow, “I’ve been spending every day of the last eight months with Harry. You can get my psych profile and medical history from him.”

“I have all of that information,” she said, “But you’re my patient now, not Harry’s. So we’re doing this my way. How are you feeling?”

He sighed, “I’m fine. Fit as a fiddle. No complaints, though my stomach might have some later, I’m not entirely sure what Drack is cooking but I’m sceptical.”

“Drack’s the best cook on the ship, apart from your sister,” she pointed out, “So you’re in safe hands.”

“Sammy cooks?”

“Uses your mother’s recipes. Has them all handwritten in a book in her quarters.”

He smiled a little at that, “I didn’t know she brought Mom’s recipe book with her.”

“Aside from the food, have you been settling in okay?”

He nodded, “Yeah. Bed’s comfy enough. Everyone’s friendly. The engine is better than Sammy described it, can’t wait to really get to work.”

“You’re getting enough sleep?”

“Sure, all things considered.” He mentally cursed himself, looking at Lexi.

“All things considered?” she asked, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged, “Couple of bad dreams is all.”

“That’s understandable, considering what you’ve been through. The coma and being stuck in the med bay couldn’t have been easy.”

“It was awful. I love Harry but if I had to hear him moan about his arthritis one more time I was going to put myself back into stasis,” he smirked, but the asari didn’t look impressed.

“Humour deflection?” she raised an eyebrow, “I’ve been treating your sister for eight months, I’m immune to it.”

He let out a frustrated huff, “What do you want me to say? That it sucked? It did. To be stuck in the dark, drifting between dreams and fighting to wake up, to suddenly hear your twin’s voice after so long; your first shred of hope only to find out that your usually absent father was dead and that everything we’d come here for had fallen to shit? That you didn’t even get to say goodbye to him? That you’re doubting whether he would have saved you if you were there and not his favourite child?”

She went to say something, but it was coming out now and he couldn’t stop himself.

“Then, when you _finally_ wake up to still be trapped in that god damned med bay, barely able to walk or do anything for yourself, ready to drag your limp body to the tram in the hope of escape? That your only form of solace are the small visits that your twin can spare you, only to find out that even the almighty Pathfinder, the one person you trust more than anything, can’t even bust you out of your own personal hell of a med bay? To be trapped there, reminded of those torturous months during your adolescence watching your mother waste away in a med bay, stuck just as you are… So yeah, I’m having some bad dreams.”

She watched him for a moment, noticed the tears in his eyes, and simply took hold of his hand. He squeezed back tightly, sniffing back his tears.

“That what you wanted to hear?” he asked, a joking tone to his tear-softened voice.

“Not what I wanted, no,” she said, “But it’s better than you holding it in. I’ve got some pills that should calm your sleep. And Scott, I want you to come see me once a week, or more if you need it. Just for a chat. I won’t take notes, it doesn’t have to go on your record. It’ll do you good to talk to someone. I know you and your sister are close, but you’ve both got enough going on.”

He roughly wiped his cheeks with the sleeve of his hoody, “Thanks Doc.”

She nodded to the door, “Go on, I’ll spare you the blood tests for today. Take some downtime, doctor’s orders.”

As he left, he nearly bumped in Gil walking past.

“Hey,” Gil smiled, “How’d your first physical with Lexi go?”

“She only jabbed me with about six different needles,” Scott joked, “You got some time? I could do with a coffee.”

Gil nodded, “Sure.”


	4. Faith (Suvi)

Scott stood at the helm of the ship, looking out across the stars. It still took his breath away, the realisation that these were stars that he had never seen before. This was what he’d come out here for; the deep set feeling of something utterly _new_ every time he looked out the window. Even the Scourge, for all its destructive nature, was beautiful. He’d read reports about it when he was stuck on the Hyperion, his scientific curiosity getting the better of him, but seeing it was something different altogether.

“Tea?”

He jumped at the sudden voice behind him, nearly knocking Suvi flying as he spun around. She giggled softly, holding out a mug towards him, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He took it with a grateful smile, running a hand through his mess of hair, trying to act casual, “I didn’t think there was anyone else up here.”

“You’re not the only one who likes to slip away at the end of dinner and admire the view,” she said, coming to stand beside him, sipping at her own tea.

“It’s really something,” his eyes moved back to the stars beyond the window.

“Your sister described it as ‘darkly beautiful’,” she told him.

He nodded, “I like that. It’s all so perfectly designed. Makes you wonder if there’s something _bigger_ out there, y’know what I mean?” He glanced at her, “Not just the Jardaan, something more divine.”

Suvi’s eyebrows raised, “You believe in God?”

“Something like that,” he nodded, “I’m not going to get down on my knees every day and start praying to the guy, but I have faith, sure.”

“You do surprise me, Scott.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I got a very different response from your sister when we spoke about it. She respected my views, but stressed that she had no faith whatsoever.”

“We used to go to church as a family. Not every week, but we would make the effort, a quiet place of contemplation to be together. Sam was a believer as much as I am, but after Mom died… She had no time for it. I used my faith to help me grieve, it comforted me knowing that Mom was in a better place, that she wasn’t suffering. Sam was too angry. Still is.”

“I didn’t know that she used to believe.”

“She still believes, I know she does, she just won’t admit to it. I’ve tried to get her to talk about it, but she just shuts down, calls God an asshole for abandoning Mom when she needed him, calls me an asshole for bringing it up, then normally slams a door. Threw her copy of the Bible at me once. Threw it at me again when I tried to give it back to her… It’s the only thing she won’t talk about with me.”

“I’m sorry. I know how close the two of you are,” Suvi said.

He shrugged a little, “It’s fine. She’ll talk to me about it when she’s ready. And if she’s never ready… We share far too much as it is, I can let this go,” he offered Suvi a gentle smile, “Thanks for the tea, by the way. Makes a change from coffee.”

“My own personal stash,” she told him, “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

“Then thank you again, for sharing that with me.”

She gave him a gentle nudge, “Don’t mention it. You’re one of us now.”


	5. Family (Cora)

“Hey Cora,” Scott called into the biolab, a mug of coffee in each hand.

“Come on in!” she replied from the back of the lab.

He followed the voice round to see the biotic frustratedly fiddling with the water system for her plants, muttering various curse words under her breath.

“I brought coffee,” he told her, “Looks like you need it.”

She looked away from her work and smiled as she took the warm mug from his hand, “Thank you.” She sipped at the hot liquid and her smile only grew, “You remembered how I like my coffee?”

“Black, two sugars,” he nodded, taking a mouthful of his own, “Same way Dad drank it. You think we’d fly six hundred years across space and I’d forget how you like your coffee? You’re one of the family, Cora, I remember this shit.”

Her eyes softened, “You think of me as a member of your family?”

“Of course,” he shrugged, “Hell, Dad pretty much adopted you, and we all spent plenty of time together in orientation before we left, I got pretty used to being around you, just felt like having another addition to our weird little unit. And besides, I know how much you’ve been there for Sammy ever since we got here, so yeah, that constitutes you as family in my book.”

She gave a soft hum of laughter, “Thanks Scott.”

He flashed her a smile, setting his coffee down, “It’s no trouble, it’s the truth… Now, what seems to be the problem with your water system?”

She glanced at it, then back at him, “How did you…?”

“I’m an engineer, I recognised the tone of the muttering. And it doesn’t take a genius to notice that your jets are spraying sporadically and that you’re going to drown your plants if it keeps up,” he said, manoeuvring around her and taking a look. It took him all of twenty to seconds to murmur a quick, “There’s your problem,” and before Cora knew it he’d pulled a wrench out of his back pocket and was cranking away at something in the back of the tank.

He stepped back, pocketing the wrench and drying his wet hands on his hoody, “That should do it.”

“You’re a miracle worker,” she beamed, “Do I even want to ask about the wrench?”

“Bad habit,” he said casually, “Or a good one, depending on who you ask. I’ve got them stashed all over the ship. Makes it feel more like home.”

“So you’re settling in okay then?” she asked.

He nodded, “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“I’m glad. Can never go wrong with more Ryders on board.”

He grabbed his coffee with a grin, “Get that on a bumper sticker to go on the Nomad.”

“Not sure that Gil would approve.”

“I’m sure I could convince him.”

“I bet,” Cora said with a knowing smirk.

“What?”

“I’ve seen how you two look at each other. It’s sweet.”

Scott went a little red in the cheeks then, shuffling backwards towards the door, “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, sure,” she laughed as he bumped into the doorframe, sending his coffee spilling down the front of his hoody in an attempt to escape, “Smooth moves, Hot Shot.”

He let out a boyish laugh, “I do try.”


	6. Compromise (Kallo)

“Have you got a problem with me, Kallo?”

The salarian looked around at the sound of the younger Ryder’s voice before his eyes flicked back to the console, “Not a problem at all,” he said quickly, “What makes you think I do?”

“You’re pretty much the only person on this ship that has barely spoken to me,” Scott pointed out, “And not just because you’re busy flying the ship.”

“It’s nothing against you _personally_ , it’s…” Kallo trailed off before he sighed, “I haven’t exactly had a great time of it with Gil as the engineer, we argue a lot about the ship, and you two seem to be working very well together. The last thing any of us need is more disagreements.”

Scott nodded to himself, “I see. Can’t say I blame you. Once Gil gets an idea in his head about how he wants something done, there’s no talking to him.”

“Exactly,” Kallo said.

“He told me about the modifications he wants to do to the nav system.”

Kallo let out a frustrated huff, “Yes, I heard about those. Wants to rip out the whole thing and do it again. No doubt you’re both well underway underdoing all the hard work that was put into them.”

“Actually, Kallo, I convinced him to leave it alone.”

Kallo spun in his seat to look at Scott, “I’m sorry?”

“You’re right, a lot of hard work went into this ship. She’s a beauty. I wouldn’t want Gil touching a damn thing unless it was literally falling off.”

The pilot’s wide eyes widened even more, “But, you’re an engineer.”

Scott shrugged, “Yeah, and if I was building this ship there are about a hundred things that I would have done differently, and some of Gil’s modifications are necessary to help us survive out here, but the Tempest is a beauty just the way she is. She’s one of a kind, and I know what she means to everyone on board, especially you.”

He smiled at that, “Thank you, Scott… I’m glad there’s someone on board that Gil listens to.”

“I don’t know if I’d stretch it that far,” Scott hummed, “But it’s a start.”

“I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I didn’t like you. I made presumptions when I shouldn’t have.”

“We all do it,” he reminded him, “Don’t sweat it. Maybe next time we dock we could go get a beer and I could ask you about the construction days? I would love to know everything about how she was built.”

Kallo’s smile was warm, “I’d like that. First round is on me for saving my nav system.”

Scott chuckled, “I look forward to it.”


	7. Scraps and Peanut Butter (Peebee)

“Hey, Peebee, could you pass me that wrench?” Scott called out from underneath the Nomad to the asari that he knew was sat on the crates watching him.

She grabbed the wrench in question with her biotics and slid it to him, receiving a muffled thanks as he started to clank around with something metal, “Your sister really did a number on that thing, huh?”

“Yup,” he grunted, “Thought the best way of disabling a minefield was to drive over the damn thing. Now I’ve got to work overtime to fix it before we reach Eos and she wants to drive it down a cliff, no doubt.”

“She’s been promising Gil that she’s going to requisition some mods for it for months, but then the kett try on some new shit and she’s distracted saving the galaxy again,” she laughed softly.

“If she doesn’t requisition them, I’m going to start building them out of whatever scrap I can find. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“You ever use your work as an engineer out in the field?” she asked, “Like in a fight?”

“Oh sure,” he said, “Put together a turret once with nothing but a blown up engine, some duct tape and my gun. Rammed it full of as much ammo as I could and ran for cover.”

“Did it work?”

“Shot down a ton of raiders that were attacking Sammy’s dig site,” he told her, then chuckled, “Took out the rest when it overheated and blew up.”

“That was quick thinking.”

“Wasn’t originally the plan,” he pointed out, “And the explosion I caused blew up half the artefact that Sam’s team had been digging up for three weeks. She was _pissed_.”

“Maybe try not to do that out here with any relics out here,” she suggested.

“Probably why she keeps damaging the Nomad; to keep me out of trouble.”

“You think you could make something like your exploding turret with some scraps I’ve got in the escape pod?”

He slid out from underneath the Nomad, covered in grease and oil, but a massive grin on his face, “You bet your ass I can.”

By the time they docked up at Eos the following day, Scott and Peebee were already racing to get off the ship, a box of various wires, gun parts and Remnant scrap all loaded up and ready to go. They hiked up the side of the cliff as the Pathfinder, Cora and Vetra disappeared off into the distance chasing down a lead on some kett. They found a nice clear area, no one round in case this went wrong and Scott got to work, with Peebee watching excitedly and giving suggestions when it came to working with the Remnant materials.

“Okay, that should just about-” Scott tightened something with his wrench, a smile starting to show on his face, but it quickly fell, “Oh shit!”

“What?” she shot him a look.

“I fucked up, it’s gonna blow! Run!”

He leapt to his feet and started sprinting as far away from the makeshift turret as he could, Peebee quick on his heels. He leapt over a boulder, grabbing hold of her hand and yanking her down into the sand behind cover.

They lay there for a moment, catching their breaths, and Scott cracked up laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Got you,” he snorted.

She punched him in the arm and hauled herself to her feet, “Jackass.”

“Oh come on, Peanut Butter,” he grinned, standing up and looking at his work in the distance, “It was-”

Before the last word could come out of his mouth, it was cut off by the sound of the turret exploding, leaving nothing more than a smoking crater. He gaped at it as Peebee started to laugh.

“You’re right, that was funny,” she smiled, then glanced at him, “Peanut Butter, huh?”

He nodded, “Your name’s Peebee, what did you expect?”

She shrugged, an amused look on her face, “A better turret at least. Come on, I’ve got a ton more scrap on the Tempest, let’s do that again!”


	8. Scars (Jaal)

“Scott, can I ask you something?” Jaal’s low rumble of a voice drew his attention away from the poetry that Gil had emailed him on his data pad, and he stuck his head out from his bunk to see the Angaran stood over him.

“Sure,” he nodded, sitting himself up, “What’s up?”

“Those markings, on the side of your face,” Jaal said, “What are they?”

Scott’s fingers brushed over the tattoo he had just below his ear that ran down his neck, “It’s my tattoo.”

“Tat-too?” Jaal frowned, “Is it like a scar?”

“It is imbedded into my skin like a scar, I suppose, but I didn’t get it in battle. I chose to have it put on my skin,” he told him, “Like a decoration, I suppose.”

“Does it represent a particular rank? I’ve noticed certain markings on other humans on the Nexus. But I did not know whether I should ask about them.”

He shook his head, “They don’t have to mean anything. It’s just something that you want on your skin. Though some people do get them to represent a rank. I know a lot of N7s get them done.”

“Your father, he was one these N7s, yes?”

“Yeah. Didn’t have the tattoo though. At least not that he ever let me or Sammy see.”

“So they’re not just for facial markings?” Jaal asked.

“You can get them anywhere on your body,” Scott said, “I just got mine here so that it would be visible. Has Sammy never shown you hers?” A smile spread across his face, “Actually, I’m not surprised that she hasn’t. She’s probably embarrassed about the whole thing.” He yanked his hoody off and turned so that Jaal could see his back, pointing to his shoulder blade.

“What do those numbers represent?” he asked.

“It’s Sammy’s birthday. She’s got mine on her opposite shoulder.”

Jaal frowned for a moment, then laughed as he understood, “I see why she did not wish to tell anyone about it now.”

“It was a stupid joke, it was our eighteenth birthday and we thought we should celebrate,” he said then showed him the words he had written on his arm.

“I think there might be a problem with my translator, I can’t…” Jaal trailed off as he tried to read it.

“There’s probably some glitch there, translating it all around. It’s written in Italian, which is where a lot of my family is from. It says ‘Quando della schiena contro il muro, se non è possibile eseguire da esso, usarlo.’ Which means ‘when your back’s against the wall, if you can’t run from it, use it’.”

“I’ve heard your sister say that before,” Jaal said as Scott pulled his hoody back on.

“The only real thing that Dad ever taught us. Never got on all that well with my old man, but he definitely had a way with words. Wanted something to represent our family. So it was either that or get Mom’s meatball recipe tattooed down my arm so that I’d never forget it. Still might.”

The angaran chuckled, “So does your facial marking have a story behind it?”

Scott nodded slightly, “The actual design of it is just some design. No story. But on my first mission out as a soldier, I got friendly with a fellow soldier, great girl, we became fast friends, reminded me a lot of Sammy. She loved to draw, and had a whole book full of designs like this one… She was shot by raiders. I should have been watching her back, but I was a cocky kid, and I wasn’t quick enough. I took her sketchbook back to her family; it was the only personal effect that she really had, but I got one of her designs tattooed on me, to remember her, to remember what happened.”

“So in some way, it is like a battle scar,” Jaal said quietly, “But one that you choose to have.”

Scott hummed softly, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Do you think I could get one?”

“Sure. Might have to change the procedure slightly for angaran skin, but no doubt someone could definitely do it.”

“Would you come with me?”

Scott smiled, “Sure, bud.”


	9. Picking Battles (Drack)

Scott let out a harsh grunt in pain as someone’s fist connected with his face. He fell hard against the bar, shaking it off before spinning round and returning the punch. He wasn’t entirely sure how the fight had started. One of the exiles had caught a glimpse of the Initiative logo on his hoody and had started a fight that Scott hadn’t even considered backing down from. Punches had been thrown, and now there were eight people all gathering around him, ready to kick ten kinds of shit out of him.

He could hold his own in a fight, but in the cramped corner of the bar and with those sort of numbers against him, he didn’t stand a chance.

He swung again, but someone was quicker than him, grabbing him to hold his arms behind his back. He kicked his legs out which held them at bay for a moment, but a swift sharp shot to the gut left him winded and open for several more punches to the face. He cursed through the pain, goading them to do better. He was not going to give these assholes the satisfaction of seeing him really hurt.

He braced himself for another hit, but it never came. Instead a great hulking shadow fell over the group, and Scott glanced up to see Drack cracking his knuckles.

“You’re gonna want to let the kid go,” he snarled.

One of the exiles turned to meet him, the one that had originally started the fight with Scott, and tried to square up to the krogan, “And what if we don’t want to?”

It took but one clean shot to the face and the guy was flat on the floor, clutching his nose in pain. His buddies spun around, and the real fight began. Scott watched in awe for a moment as Drack floored at least three more guys with ease, but they were moving, starting to surround the krogan. In the distraction, Scott threw his head back, headbutting the guy that was holding him. He scrambled to his feet as he was dropped and rejoined the fray, kicking one of the attackers hard in the chest, sending him crashing over a table. Drack let out an impressed laugh, and between the two of them, they quickly finished off the rest, leaving them all in a groaning and unconscious pile on the floor.

Drack helped Scott onto a bar stool, and Umi slid them a bottle of whiskey and a rag for Scott’s bleeding nose and lip.

“You gotta pick your battles better, kid,” Drack told him as he poured them both glasses of whiskey.

Scott knocked his back, grimacing at the burning taste, “I had them on the ropes.”

“Uh-huh,” Drack nodded, drinking his own, pouring two more.

Scott drank his second glass then looked at the krogan, “Thanks, by the way. You saved my ass.”

“No problem. And besides, they were asking for it. When we get back to the Tempest, and your face isn’t already bleeding, we can spar, I’ll show you how to get out of fights like that and still kick their asses.”

Scott looked up at him, “Really?”

“Sure thing, kid,” he nodded, “Your dad never teach you how to fight properly?”

“Taught me how to shoot a gun in the back yard but he wasn’t the type to encourage bar fights, so didn’t prepare me for them.”

“Bah, I’ll teach you. Just in case I’m not there next time.”

“And we’re definitely not telling my sister about this, right?”

“As long as you don’t tell Kesh,” Drack glanced at him.

“Deal.”


	10. Blessing (Vetra)

“So I hear you’re dating my sister.”

Vetra looked around at Scott with a surprised expression. She had heard him passing behind her, presuming that he was headed into the engine room. She hadn’t expected him to stop, let alone talk. Especially to talk about his sister.

“And where’d you hear that?” she asked.

“Cora. Peebee. SAM. Drack. Even Sammy let it slip about eight times. Everyone knows.”

“I guess it wasn’t really a secret, it just wasn’t… public,” Vetra said, “Are you going to give me some ‘hurt my sister and I’ll hurt you’ talk?”

Scott shook his head, “No. One, you’d kick my ass in a fight. Two, Sammy would kick my ass if I even attempted it. And three, I like you. You make my sister happy. I’m not going to be a dick about it. I just wanted to let you know… welcome to the family?”

She noted the unsure look on his face, “You had no plan for this conversation, did you?”

He flashed her grin, “I’ve been caught. You’re right. I didn’t know what I was going to say to you. But I thought that I should say _something_. You’ve got my approval, even though I knew neither of you were asking for it, and thank you for making my sister happy. She deserves someone like you in her life.”

She felt a warmth growing in her chest. She knew that she made Sam happy, and Sam made her happy, but it was always so strange having someone else point it out, it made the whole thing _real_.

“And y’know, this way I don’t have to worry about surprise nieces or nephews being sprung on me,” he said.

She laughed, “What a weight that must be off your chest.”

“I just couldn’t handle the responsibility. I can barely look after myself.”

“You got any favourite snacks? I’m sure Sam told you that I’m… a procurer of goods.”

“Is this my approval as a brother in law? Smuggled snacks?” he joked.

She looked unimpressed, “You want ‘em or not?”

“Gummy Blast-Os,” he said quickly, worried she was going to retract the offer.

She gave a nod, “I had you pegged for those already. Got a couple of boxes in my quarters. I’ll put them on your bunk later.”

“Which reminds me, I got you something as well.”

“You got me something?” she frowned and quickly had a leather bound book shoved into her hands, flicking it open to see that it was full of recipes, “What is this?”

“The Ryder family secrets. My mom’s recipe book. Well, a version of. Sammy’s got the original in her quarters with all of Mom’s instructions in it, but I copied them all down and made them all dextro friendly. I know all Sammy’s ever wanted was to be able to make Mom’s food with her own family one day. I don’t know whether you guys are going to have turian kids, or human kids, or adopt a couple of krogans, whatever, but at least you know that you can at least do family meals together, the way Sammy pictured it. It’s the closest thing to giving you Mom and Dad’s wedding rings with my blessing that I’ve got”

Vetra’s chest clenched up. She was _not_ going to cry. “Scott, that’s… That’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever given me. Thank you.”

He gave a casual shrug, “Don’t go telling anyone that I’m thoughtful, especially Sammy, I’ve got a reputation to protect.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Naturally, Peebee had heard the entire exchange from where she was sitting behind one of the crates. So naturally the entire crew knew by dinnertime.


	11. Home (Liam)

Liam flashed a smile at Scott as he grabbed the football out of his locker, “D’you play?”

“Still a little fuzzy when it comes to the offside rule, but I can definitely play,” Scott nodded.

“I try and set up a game every time we dock at an outpost and we’ve got some downtime. Gets everyone together. Got a bet with Bradley that the Prodromos team wouldn’t stand a chance against the crew. You up for it?”

Scott smiled, “Definitely. Haven’t played in a while though.”

“Fancy a kickabout now? Drack’s on dinner duty tonight so we’re not going to be eating for hours yet.”

“Sounds good.”

Scott yanked his hoody off, throwing it onto one of the crates. Liam rolled up his sleeves, dropping the ball onto the floor and kicked it to Scott. They kicked it back and forth for a while, not saying much before Liam looked up.

“We haven’t gotten much chance to talk since you joined up,” Liam pointed out, “It seems like you’re settling in alright.”

“I am,” Scott told him, “You’re a great crew, everyone’s been really friendly. Still strange having my sister in charge, but me and her have practically always been able to read each other’s minds so it doesn’t make much difference to me. As long as she doesn’t tell me to start ripping part out of the engine, I trust her judgement.”

Liam laughed at that, “She wouldn’t shut up about how excited you were going to be to get your hands on the Tempest’s engine.”

“It’s a beauty. Much better than the old Alliance ships I started out working on.”

“You worked the engine room with the Alliance?”

“For a short while. It was my true calling, but Dad pushed for me to put my Alliance training to good use, got me a post guarding a relay. Was bored out of my mind. Starting breaking stuff just so I had an excuse to fix it… My sister told me you were in crisis response.”

He nodded, “Was a cop for a while. Got frustrated with that, so moved on. The training really helps out here.”

“Must do if my dad wanted you for the Pathfinder team,” Scott pointed out.

“What was going to be your role, before everything got turned upside down? If your dad was pushing you front line, would he have done the same here?” he asked.

“Probably. Others in the Initiative recognised my skills as an engineer, could have gotten a job on any ship, any of the stations, any outpost, but Dad was insistent. Would have wanted me on the ground, at his side… I think he would have let up eventually when he realised that my forte isn’t in scientific exploration. I’m a crack shot with a sniper rifle, but that’s about as far as it goes. Give me a toolkit and a beer and I’ll have an entire colony’s power supply up and running before lunch.”

Liam let out a laugh, “Now that I’d like to see… C’mon, lets crank this up a gear.”

Their football game became more than a kickabout then, using up the entire bottom floor of engineering, racing around the Nomad, kicking the ball to each other. The rest of the crew eventually joined their game after coming out to see what the noise was all about, setting up goalposts with discarded sweatshirts at either end of the deck. Drack, Gil and Kallo all watched from the deck above.

It let off steam, something that they all needed. Their collective laughter echoed around the deck, and for the first time since Scott had been aboard, he didn’t just feel like the Pathfinder’s brother, he felt like one of the crew, and he realised how Sam could feel so at home here. He’d worried about what would have happened if their fates had been reversed and he’d been the Pathfinder, but with these people surrounding him, he might just have pulled through.

He was ripped from his thoughts when he heard Gil shout, “Mind the Nomad!”

Without thinking, he intercepted the ball, kicking it as far from the Nomad as he could. Not that it helped much. He instead sent it flying over the railing and straight into Gil’s face, knocking the engineer straight onto the floor.

He ran for the ladder, racing up it to reach him. He knelt by Gil’s side, “Shit, I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

Gil blinked a few times, looking up at him, vision swimming a little, “Is this where I make some terrible joke about you knocking me off my feet?”

Scott let out a breathy laugh, “Please don’t or I’m going to have to come up with something much worse.”

“I have to hand it to you, that was a cracking shot.”

“They don’t call me Hot Shot for no reason.”

Before Gil could make another smart comment, Lexi was up the ladder and scanning Gil with her omni tool.

“I’m fine, Lex,” he waved her off, sitting up, “Stop fussing.”

“You alright Brodie?” Sam shouted up the ladder.

“Glass of whiskey and I’ll be right as rain,” he called back.

“Knew you’d end up taking a shot for the Nomad one day,” she laughed, “You do know that it’s pretty much bulletproof right? I think it can handle a ball bouncing off the bonnet.”

“Couldn’t take that chance with my baby,” he said.

Scott stood up and held out his hand to Gil, pulling him onto his feet, a secure hand on his shoulder to make sure he was steady.

“C’mon, I’ll sort you for that whiskey,” Scott smiled, “I think I owe you one from my good stash.”

“The fact that you have a _good_ stash speaks volumes about your character, Scott Ryder."

Everyone watched after them as they left, headed towards the crew quarters together, and all exchanging knowing smiles.

 


	12. Game On (Gil)

Scott let out a groan, bending over, putting his head through the grate on the side of the engine room, “Damn it, there’s some wiring loose back here.”

Gil leaned back against the console and watched him work. He had a perfect view of the firm shape of Scott’s ass pressing against the tight material of his sweatpants from where he stood. It left very little to the imagination. He could hear his muffled cursing as he clattered about, trying to fix the problem. He pulled back after a moment and yanked his hoody off, throwing it aside. Gil had never seen him without that god damn hoody on, and he swore he could have died a happy man from the view he had before him.

Scott was knelt in front of him, usually messy dark hair even more askew, the muscles that he’d developed from his time as a soldier and the strict exercise regime he stuck to, straining against the white shirt he was wearing, his sweatpants riding low enough to catch a glimpse at hard stomach muscle decorated with a line of hair that led to the top of the v shape of his crotch, all tied together with the perfect sheen of sweat and exhaustion.

It took him a moment to realise that Scott had been talking to him the entire time. He blinked a few times, trying to focus back in on Scott’s words, but he was just looking up at him expectantly for an answer.

“I…” Gil trailed off, “What?”

A sly smile played on Scott’s lips as he realised exactly what Gil had been distracted by. He said nothing, simply stood and pressed himself up against his fellow engineer, pinning him to the console slightly. Gil barely had time to react because as soon as he was there, he was gone again, smugly showing off the wrench that had been behind Gil that he’d obviously been asking for to no avail.

He sunk back to his knees and clambered back into the hole he’d been working in, leaning so that his ass was poking out perfectly.

 _Bastard_.

Two were going to play at this game.


	13. Underneath Your Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions come to a head with Gil and Scott when Gil catches Scott singing.  
> Listening suggestion; Please Don't Let Me Go by Olly Murs

After that, their flirtation only continued. They still flirted occasionally in conversation, but it had become second nature now, there was no challenge to it. Now it had become a game, trying to one up the other, see who could be more flustered before the other cracked. It had started with seductive posing, and it had escalated quickly from there. Gil wasn’t going to get the image of Scott doing push ups, shirtless, in the middle of the engine room out of his head _ever_. He thought he was going to get him with the overdramatically steamy shower performance he put on, but Scott didn’t even flinch. He’d even attempted a strip poker game to make him squirm, but Lexi had caught them. There was zero privacy on a ship with big open windows to every room and automatic doors.

One afternoon, whilst the rest of the crew was on the Nexus taking a few hours of shore leave, he went in search of Scott, hoping to reinitiate the poker game whilst they had some time alone.

He found Scott him on his bunk, eyes shut as though he was asleep, but Gil could hear the soft sounds of music coming from the headphones Scott was wearing. He opened his mouth to announce his presence, or at least get Scott’s attention, but then something happened that Gil didn’t expect.

Scott started to sing.

“ _Where do I begin? Should I tell you how bad I need you now yeah.  You're underneath my skin, but I'm confused; my head is spinning all around. I waited so long, I need to know, darling, what is on your mind?”_

Gil didn’t know the song, but he could tell that Scott was singing it _well_. His voice hit the notes perfectly, and Gil could already feel himself melting.

“ _Normally I try to run, and I might even want to hide, 'cause I never knew what I wanted till I looked into your eyes. So am I in this alone? What I'm looking for is a sign, that you feel how I feel for you. Baby please don't let me go.”_

He leaned in the doorway and listened to the entire song, losing himself in the sound of Scott’s voice. How had he never heard him sing before?

The song ended and he watched the horror dawn on Scott’s face when he opened his eyes and realised that he wasn’t alone. He yanked his headphones off and sat up so quickly that he banged his head on the bunk above.

“Everyone was meant to be on the Nexus taking a break… How long have you been stood there?” Scott’s eyes were wide, and Gil noted how flustered he looked.

“Long enough,” Gil told him, “Y’know, you’ve got a great voi-”

“Yes it was about you,” Scott blurted out, interrupting him.

They both stared at each other for a moment.

“Wait what?” Gil frowned.

“The song… It reminded me of you… and… you stood there listening and you didn’t even pay attention to what I was singing?” Scott was going even redder in the face.

“I was losing myself in the dreamy tones of your voice,” Gil pointed out, “But come to think of it…” He moved closer to Scott, sitting beside him, raising an eyebrow, “I’m underneath your skin, huh?”

“Oh shut up,” Scott breathed, grabbing hold of the front of his uniform and yanking him closer, pressing a searing kiss to his lips. Gil moaned against his mouth then kissed him back, wrapping his arms around him.

“Guess this means I win?” he asked when they both broke for a breath after a moment.

Scott groaned, “Yes, fine you win, just kiss me again.”

Gil chuckled softly then kissed him, savouring the feel of Scott’s mouth on his, Scott’s body flush against him, the warm familiar scent of him; generic sandalwood cologne masking the faint smell of sweat and oil. It was all _Scott_ ; the wonderful guy that had literally stumbled into his life. He loved his job, he loved working for Sam, he loved the crew and the ship, and exploring Andromeda, but since Scott had joined everything had just _clicked_.

He was dragged out of his thoughts as Scott pulled away to yank his hoody off before quickly kissing him again, his lips leading a trail across Gil’s face, across his jaw and soon onto his neck.

“Scott,” Gil said quietly.

“Hmm?” Scott moaned against his fellow engineer’s neck as he hungrily kissed the hollow of his throat.

“Amazing as this is… I… I think we need to talk,” he finally got the words out, trying not to think about the attractive, and apparently very eager, guy who was currently trying to undress him.

Scott shifted away from him, sitting crosslegged on his bunk, lips kiss swollen, hair messy in an all too suggestive way. Gil sat more comfortably so that he was facing him and took hold of one of his hands.

“I like you, Scott,” he admitted, “I _really_ like you. I want there to be something between us, not just sex, great as the sex would be.”

Scott offered him a smile, squeezing his hand back, “I feel the same, Gil. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve wanted to get you into bed since the first day we met, but the more we’ve worked together and spent time together, I realised that I really care about you. I want you, but I want _this_ more. Me and you.” He chewed his lip a little to hide his growing smile, “So, does this whole relationship thing mean that we have to keep our hands completely off of each other?”

Gil smirked, “Hell no.”

They were slower about it this time, leaning into the other’s embrace, making out like a couple of lovesick teens savouring their first kiss, learning what the other one liked.  They shifted positions so that Scott was on top, desperately trying not to bang his head on the bunk above.

“These bunks are not designed for two people,” he pointed out after another close miss.

“I’m sure we can come up with something,” Gil quirked an eyebrow.

“If you’re suggesting that we make out in the back of the Nomad I might have to go take a cold shower before I dishevel you.”

“I was going to suggest a room in the next port, but that is a much better image.”

They laughed, hungrily kissing each other again. They lost themselves in the moment, and before either of them could react, the door to the crew quarters slid open. Scott rolled off of Gil in alarm, hitting the floor hard, looking up at the asari stood over him.

“Well then,” Lexi said, folding her arms across her chest, “I see you two are attending to each other’s physicals.”

“Lexi,” Scott laughed nervously, not sure what to say as he started to go red.

“I’m happy for you both,” she smiled, “And my lips are sealed.”

She left the room, and Scott looked over his shoulder at Gil, “How long before everyone else knows?”

Gil hummed, “I give it till dinner.”


	14. Power

“Pathfinder," Suvi's voice over interrupted the quiet moment Sam was having with a book and a coffee "We’ve got a problem in engineering. The lights on the bridge keep flicking on and off, and no one can get Gil or Scott on the comms.”

Sam chugged down her last mouthful of coffee, “I’ll head over. There might be a problem with the power.” She left the galley, noticing that a significant amount of the ship’s lights were flickering. But not quickly as though there was a problem with the systems, but as though someone was irregularly flicking the switch.

As she headed into engineering and past the Nomad, she could hear the soft sounds of moaning and gasping coming from above. Oh good god, she hoped they weren’t doing what she thought they were doing.

“Gil?” she called out, walking in further, “Scotty? Are you in here?”

She clambered up the ladder and headed into the engine room, stopping dead. Scott had Gil pressed up against the control panel, the pair of them in various states of undress, gripping tight to each other as they made out, pressing various buttons on the panel as they did. She cleared her throat, but neither of them looked up. She folded her arms across her chest and cleared her throat again, still gaining no response. She leaned against the edge of the control panel with a raised eyebrow. It was for a solid three minutes that she stood there, waiting for them to notice her.

Scott reached for his belt, and she finally had enough.

“Scott Anthony Ryder!” she barked, channelling her best impression of their mother as she could.

“Sammy!” Scott gasped, looking at his sister, quickly reaching for his shirt, more to hold over his crotch than anything, “What… What are you doing down here?”

“You two were fucking about with the lights,” she smirked, and they both glanced at the control panel.

Gil coughed awkwardly, quickly setting to work on putting everything right. The comms crackled then kicked back in.

“That’s fixed it,” Suvi’s voice came over the comms.

“Sorry, we just had a little… malfunction,” Gil told her, voice breathless and hair askew, “Everything should be all clear now.”

Sam looked at her brother who was desperately trying to sort himself out, “Y’know, when I told the pair of you to play nice…”

“Yeah… We, um… Yeah,” Scott rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Pathfinder, I…,” Gil looked at her, a look of worry in his eyes.

She regarded him for a moment before a grin spread across her face, “Oh calm down, the pair of you. I’m not going to court martial you for a fumble in the engine room. I’m more surprised this didn’t happen sooner.”

“Wait… You knew this would happen?” Scott stared at her.

“I’m your sister, I know everything. It’s why I insisted that the two of you work together. I knew you’d get along.”

“So you set us up?”

“Obviously,” she rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out sooner. As your sister, and your friend, I’m happy for you. And as your Pathfinder, anything that brings my two best engineers closer together is best for all of us. Just be careful where you start making out next time.”


	15. Nobody Said It Was Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott gets nightmares, and no one can wake him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter just to wrap the fic up and not confuse timelines with my other stuff, but stick around my page because there will be plenty more from these nerds!

Gil stirred in his sleep, blinking awake into the darkness of the crew quarters. The solid roof of his bunk was above him, and the silence throughout the rest of the ship told him that it was the dead of night; or whatever version of night that they used in the middle of space. He tried to close his eyes again, feeling the heavy tug of sleep, but something else in the room other than Suvi’s gentle snores caught his ear.

It was Scott’s voice.

He shifted, hanging his head over the side of the bunk, half expecting Scott to be sat up reading, mumbling the words quietly to himself under his breath. But his little overhead lamp was off, there was no blue glow of a datapad, and as Gil’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that Scott appeared to be asleep.

But his sleep was fitful, his head turning from side to side, his blanket on the floor from where he had kicked it off, muttering things to himself in his sleep.

“Scott,” Gil whispered, hoping to stir him enough to knock him out of his dream and send him back to sleep, but it didn’t even earn a reaction. He thought about just leaving him to it, knowing that it would likely pass in a moment or two. He lay in the dark for a while, listening out for the evening out of Scott’s breathing, but it never came.

“Gil.”

His heart clenched at the sound of his own name. There was an edge to Scott’s soft voice, and for a moment he wondered whether his boyfriend was having a sex dream about him, something that began to bring a smile to his face. Maybe he should wake him up and help the poor boy along.

“Gil,” Scott whispered his name again, “No… Don’t… Don’t go...”

Without a shred of hesitation this time, he slid from his bunk, kneeling beside Scott’s. The younger man was getting more worked up now, beads of sweat on his forehead, breathing verging on erratic, clearly in the grips of a nightmare; not a passionate vision of his lover.

“I’m here, sweetheart,” Gil told him, running a hand over his sweat drenched hair.

Scott’s face screwed up as though he were about to cry, “Gil _please_ I can’t lose you too,” he begged.

“It’s just a dream, Scott, it’s not real, I’m here,” Gil insisted, trying to cup his cheek but his thrashing only got worse, so much so that Gil had to dodge out of the way of a flailing arm. His breathing got more rapid, and his voice rose as he began to plead for Gil to stay with him, to not leave him like everyone else had. Gil shook his shoulder, said his name over and over, but he couldn’t draw him from sleep.

One by one the crew bunk lights began to flick on as the others were woken up by Scott, realising what was happening. Suvi wiped the sleep from her eyes, looking concerned between Scott and Gil.

“We need to wake him up. He’s only going to hurt himself like that,” she said.

“I’ve tried,” Gil ran a hand through his hair, heart breaking every time he heard Scott’s voice, desperate to hold him and tell him that it was okay, that he was never going to leave him.

“We have to do something,” Suvi sighed, squeezing her friend’s shoulder supportively.

The door slid open and they all looked around to see the Pathfinder there, donned in nothing but her shorts and one of her brother’s t shirts, hair askew and a look of worry in her eyes. She let out a shaky breath as she approached Scott, but her crewmates watched as a look of calm overcame her and she pulled her hair up into her usual ponytail.

With Gil’s help, she eased Scott onto the floor then scooched herself to sit behind him, wrapping one arm around his chest, stilling his movements, the other coming up to stroke his hair. She rested the side of her face against his and their near matching scars met.

“Scott,” she said softly, “It’s okay. Everything is okay. Just listen to my voice. I know you can hear me, somewhere in there, and I promise you that everything is going to be just fine. But I need you to focus on my voice, and only my voice, okay?”

His body went slack, the fight going out of him at the gentle sound of his sister’s voice.

“There we go,” she pressed a kiss to his temple, “I’ve got you. You’re just having a bad dream. You’re going to be just fine. Keep focusing on my voice. You’ve done the hard part, now you just have to wake up. Okay? You’re safe, you’re here with me, we’re in the crew quarters on the Tempest. You can wake up.”

“Sammy?” he whimpered quietly, his face relaxing into a soft frown as his eyes started to open.

“I’m here Scotty. Always.”

He took a few deep breaths as he woke up properly, eyes going wide as he looked around and realised that everyone was watching him. Sam helped him up onto his feet, then told him to go and take a shower. He gave Gil a lingering look, but disappeared off to the bathroom before Gil could say anything to him.

Once they could hear the water running, Sam let out a sigh, folding her arms across her chest as she looked at her crewmates, “Scott gets really bad nightmares. Has done ever since he was a kid. He can’t ever snap himself out of them, they either have to run their course or you have to coax him out like I just did. Mom used to have to do it, then I took over… If this ever happens when I’m not here, or if something ever happens to me, I need you guys to do what I just did for him. I need someone to look out for him.”

“Of course,” Gil nodded, as did the others, but everyone knew that it was Gil that she’d really been talking to.

She ran her hands over her face, “We should all try and get a few more hours whilst we can. Scott will sleep fine now.”

They all shuffled off to bed, the lights flicking back off one by one. Gil sat himself on Scott’s bunk, determined to wait for him, but he heard the other door to the bathroom open then the more distant sound of someone going into the galley. He left the crew quarters and headed quietly along the corridor, entering the galley as well.

Scott sat at the table, hugging his knees to his chest, hair still a little damp. He glanced up as Gil came in, but his warm smile didn’t overcome his face like it usually did. It wasn’t until he came to sit beside him that Gil realised that Scott was wearing one of his shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts.

“Is that…?” he started to ask and Scott nodded.

“Sorry, your locker was the only one that was open,” Scott mumbled quietly, “I didn’t want to come back in and disturb anyone looking for clothes.”

“It’s no problem,” Gil told him, then put a hand to his cheek, tilting his face so that he was looking at him, “Really, none of it was any problem,” he insisted.

Scott turned away, hugging his knees tighter, “I haven’t had one of my nightmares in a while. Last one was just after I woke up on the Hyperion, the night after Sam left. I freaked out, I hate being stuck in med bays. Luckily Harry knew about my problem so he jabbed me with something to wake me up… I always worried that this would happen on the ship… It’s why I never stuck with any squad for too long when I was away from Sammy during my Alliance days. Things are never quite the same when you wake someone up screaming in the middle of the night about your night terrors.”

“Scott, I know it’s not going to be easy for you to believe, but no one’s going to be mad about this. Everyone just wanted to help.”

Scott scoffed, “Yeah, sure.”

“I promise you, no one was angry,” Gil said, “We were all worried about you. The worst part was that we couldn’t do anything until Sam got there. But we all watched her, so now that we know how to wake you up there’s no one on this ship that wouldn’t help you in a split second.”

He watched as Scott blinked back tears, turning his head a little to look at Gil, “Really?”

“Really,” Gil nodded, “I know that it’s always just been you and your sister, but you’ve got other people that you can rely on now. A family."

Scott shifted himself so that he was leaning against Gil’s shoulder, and the redhead wrapped an arm around him, pressing a kiss to his hair, taking in the scent of his apple shampoo.

“Thank you,” Scott murmured.

Gil was quiet for a moment before the burning question in his mind pushed past his lips, “Do you want to talk about your nightmare?”

Scott let out a sigh, but didn’t move to look at him, “Did you read the report about the mission to the turian ark?”

“I did,” Gil said, not adding the unsaid _because you were on that mission_.

Scott never went on missions with his sister and the team. He was Alliance trained, but his skills were better suited to the engine room, which meant more time spent together, and not having to worry about his safety. But when they had found the turian ark with Avitus, Scott had gone aboard as well; his engineering expertise needed to help them navigate the severely damaged ark. Gil had sat in the engine room wringing his hands the entire time he was gone, waiting to hear if anything had gone wrong.

“So you know what happened to their Pathfinder, about him and Avitus,” Scott said, “Avitus lost the man he loved, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Macen died trying to get to him, trying to keep him safe… I just… I couldn’t get it off of my mind… I dreamt that it was us. That something went wrong on the Tempest, the kett attacked, blew up half the ship, and I couldn’t get to you. I fought as hard as I could, but it wasn’t enough… You died in my arms… and I just… I can’t _stand_ it. I wasn’t scared about the kett, or the ship crashing, or facing certain death, I was scared because I couldn’t save you, because I wasn’t fast enough or strong enough, because _I_ wasn’t _enough._ ”

“Hey,” Gil wrapped his arms around him properly then, holding him close to him as Scott began to cry, “I’m right here. Always will be… And Scott, you _are_ enough. I know you, you put all of yourself into everything you do, you may act like you half ass everything but I’ve never known anyone as dedicated as you. To your work, your team, your family, to us.”

Scott clung to him, face resting in the crook of his neck, feeling the tense knots of his anxiety start to loosen a little at his words. It would take a lot more than that for Scott to completely believe him, but for now, it helped. Unknown to the other, they both bit back a confession of love, deciding that now wasn’t the best time.

The younger man pulled away after a moment to wipe his cheeks with the back of his hand, “Let’s go back to bed,” he said quietly.

Gil took hold of his hand, intertwining their fingers as they headed back into the crew quarters. He pressed a kiss to Scott’s lips and went to climb up into his bunk, but Scott gave a slight tug on his hand.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” he asked, “I know it’s a bit cramped to be sleeping together, but…”

Gil offered him a smile, “Of course.”

They hit off the last few lights and clambered into Scott’s bunk together, Gil’s back pressed against the wall, spooning Scott’s taller form as they found a comfortable position around each other’s limbs. They fell asleep with ease despite the smaller conditions with Gil mumbling about how cute Scott looked in his clothes.


End file.
